Season four starts with Northwest Passages. Maggie’s (Janine Turner) 30th birthday is arriving, and everyone in Cicely reflects on it, as she undertakes an Indigenous ritual to say goodbye to all of her dead boyfriends.

With some guidance from Ed (Darren E. Burrows) she heads out to the perfect spot on the river to write and send off letters down the current to let go of everything.

Written by Robin Green, the season got underway on 28 September, 1992.

Maruice (Barry Corbin) starts toying with the idea of writing his memoirs, but ends up annoying everyone in town. And Chris (John Corbett – with longer hair again for the new season) is bit by the teaching bug when he teaches Marilyn (Elaine Miles) how to drive, after she shoots Joel (Rob Morrow) down, and Ruth-Anne (Peg Phillips) proves unable to handle the stress.

Chris is having a great time, and his philosophical bent towards life leads to some wonderful speeches (Corbett had his work cut out for him with this entire series) but Marilyn just wants to learn how to drive.

Joel is troubled by a checkup Maggie has had, and needs to get to her quick, she’s got a virus (or maybe something worse), and out there in the woods on her own could be a problem, especially when she starts hallucinating.

It’s a nice quiet way to start the season, and Turner absolutely shines. And I haven’t mentioned it before, but man, I really do enjoy David Schwartz’s score for the series, and the stuff he uses with Maggie is just wonderful.

Midnight Sun first aired on 5 October, 1992 and was written by Geoffrey Neigher.

The sun isn’t going to set for some time, and Joel is wired, and unable to sleep, and apparently rather aroused. He finds an outlet with coaching Cicely’s basketball team, the Quarks, which also delightfully includes Chris’ brother, Bernard (Richard Cummings Jr.).

Joel is definitely succumbing to sun sickness, he’s wired, wacky, and just won’t stop. Until he does. Abruptly.

Holling (John Cullum) has another focus with the lack of night, Shelley (Cynthia Geary) is in her cheerleader outfit. Shelley, however, isn;t thinking about sex, she’s all about Cicely pride. And Ruth-Anne has a little bit of a flirtation going with a travelling salesman, Gillis (Jim Haynie), who has long-term plans for her.

She gently rebuffs him, but the two remain inseparable.

And finally, the entire town comes together for a party to celebrate that the sun has finally gone down, and things can get back to a somewhat normal routine.

It’s a fun episode, and everyone is perfectly on point. It’s just a delight to watch this cast and crew at the top of their game.